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Gender, Sexuality, and the Authoritarian Personality
Author(s) -
Peterson Bill E.,
Zurbriggen Eileen L.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00670.x
Subject(s) - authoritarianism , psychology , masculinity , personality , mores , social psychology , politics , construct (python library) , femininity , human sexuality , attractiveness , physical attractiveness , romance , developmental psychology , gender studies , sociology , psychoanalysis , political science , democracy , computer science , law , programming language
The political correlates of the authoritarian personality have been well established by researchers, but important linkages to other major constructs in psychology need fuller elaboration. We present new data and review old data from our laboratories that show the myriad ways in which authoritarianism is implicated in the important domain of gender roles. We show that women and men high in authoritarianism live in rigidly gendered worlds where male and female roles are narrowly defined, attractiveness is based on traditional conceptions of masculinity and femininity, and conventional sexual mores are prescribed. As a construct, authoritarianism is not just relevant for understanding people's politics, but it also affects the most personal of domains—romantic partnerships, lifestyle goals, and basic attitudes about male and female relationships.